A/N:
So glad to see everyone enjoying our new story!
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The next few hours were dedicated to research. Not even Dean, who had an extreme dislike of research compared to his book-savvy-and-formerly-college-bound little brother, was going to pass up a chance to find a targetable weakness against a monster that wielded traps the size of RVs.
Bigger guns was an understatement.
"David took down Goliath with a slingshot," Dean grumbled from his bed as he flipped through an ancient text, scribbling ideas down on a notepad.
Sam, set up over at the table with his laptop and scanning any old legends he could find on giants, sent him a flat look. "You really think that's going to do us any good?" he shot back.
"Well unless you have any beanstalks to cut down out from under the giant, I'm flat out of ideas. Unless you think we should get the grenad-"
Sam pinched his forehead, cutting off Dean's inevitable plan of blow everything up. The last thing they needed to do was set the forest on fire. "Look, we'll just go to the park tomorrow, scout the area the park ranger was in and check things out. For all we know he mistook a regular trap for a cage. Maybe it is just a wendigo or a black dog. Or it could be a giant. There's enough lore out there for it."
"How'n hell did no one ever notice a giant, though?" Dean asked, his forehead furrowing. "It's not like a thing like that is easy to hide. From what that guy said, this… giant… could bench a semi without breaking a sweat."
Sam shrugged, unable to offer up any ideas. "Maybe it was up in the mountains. There's plenty of room to hide up there. It could've been chased out of its home like a lot of animals are when construction begins. The state park might be the best kind of place for a giant to hide. Miles of woods to hide in, a lake nearby and apparently campers to snack on like that Andris kid."
"Whatever." Dean tossed the book from the bed, managing to land it on his duffel. He leaned back and closed his eyes. "I'm telling you, I'm at least bringing the sawed-off tomorrow with real bullets, and a flare gun. I ain't being lunch for any monster, giant or not."
While Dean slumped down into sleep, Sam stayed up to continue his research. There were no recent accounts from hunters about how to deal with giants, and aside from vague references in history, no one knew how to fight one. It was all unrealistic fights like the legends of dragons, taking on a giant with nothing more than a sword and shield… Or a slingshot, Sam thought grimly.
They would have to hope their firepower was enough to deal with it, and if not, Dean might just get his wish after all, and get to dig out the grenade launcher from the depths of the Impala like he'd dreamed.
They'd figure it out, one way or the other. That was what the Winchesters were best at.
The morning came with a chorus of birdsong and the sunlight drifting in through the one window of the room. Both brothers were already up, preparing for the hike.
The giant may be giant, but there were miles of untouched country out there where hikers or hunters (big game hunters, not the supernatural kind) could be found, along with the mountains themselves. This was a hunt that could keep them out for the long haul and so they needed to prepare.
Keeping that in mind, Sam packed what he could. Most likely they'd be back to the room to restock if they didn't find anything, but if there was a trail for this thing, a short trip could turn into days. He made Dean fill his own bag up, both packing what they could for food and weaponry.
Then it was time to head out.
After consulting a map, Dean found an abandoned parking lot a distance from the main campsites. It was most likely used by the park rangers if there was an emergency, or might even be forgotten in the local group mind. Whatever the reason, the dusty dirt lot gave the Impala decent cover to hide in while they searched for a trail.
Sam breathed in the crisp air, tilting his head to glimpse the blue skies above. The forecast called for sun and clouds with no rain, making it the perfect day for a hike. It was hot but not sweltering, and a cool breeze drifted between the trees. After their camping fiasco with the wendigo little more than a year ago, Sam had a compass on hand, following the directions it gave. Last time they'd been with a local expert, though he hadn't lasted long against the wendigo. This time, if they got lost, they were on their own.
A fact that was proven less than an hour into the hike.
"Can't get a friggin' bar on this thing," Dean growled in annoyance as he held his phone up over his head.
Sam had let his brother take the lead, so his grin was out of sight from Dean's angle. "You saw the bulletin just like I did. There's no cell service out here."
Dean stuffed the phone in his back pocket. "We should get one of those satellite phones like that kid had. At least then we could stay in touch with Bobby."
"Whatever you say." With that noncommittal acknowledgement out of the way, Sam took the lead and angled their path towards the sunlight creeping between the trees. If there was a clearing ahead, they would be able to double-check their bearings and reaffirm their direction. They were avoiding the main hiking trails for now. The people who'd reported strange sightings and lost ponies also had a hard time remembering where they were, a red flag for hopping off the trail and blazing their own path.
About ten feet away from the clearing, Sam stiffened. Dean froze behind him, searching for what had his brother's attention.
There was a broken tree ahead, but that wasn't what caught Sam's attention. Instead, it was the broken branches that littered the sides. Up in the distance, a huge gust of air could be heard, on the level of a breeze-
-but it sounded like a sigh.
By silent agreement, both brothers crept forward, keeping an eye on the strange sights around them. Dean hopped into a depression in the ground, almost slipping on a hidden mudbank. Sam glanced to the side and saw that a tiny stream trickled through the underbrush.
It ended at the depression, and as Sam looked behind them, it restarted. Sam grabbed Dean's jacket, hauling him out and pointing. Dean sucked in a gasp, spotting the familiar mark of a gigantic boot in the soft ground.
"Crap."
"C'mon, let's go."
This time, Dean took point as they edged to the clearing, switching off as naturally as they breathed. Once they made it to the edge of the treeline, Dean froze again in disbelief.
"Bigger guns my ass," he said weakly, reaching behind his jacket to pull out his colt. "We might need the damn military."
The boots that made the huge print in the ground were planted in the earth across the clearing, weighed down by their truly colossal owner. Even crouched, the creature loomed well overhead, and some of the smaller trees in the forest would be cast in that shadow.
The giant, if it stood, would reach a lofty 120 feet, at least.
Its dirty clothes were worn and those car-sized boots were caked in enough mud that entire small tree branches could be seen stuck to the side of the huge sole. One light step would prove devastating to either brother, and a monster of that size might never even realize it took out a hunter.
Massive lungs hidden within that muscular torso drew in and released breaths, the source of the breeze Sam heard. The trees nearest the giant all waved their branches from the air.
Before they could come up with a plan, that breathing paused, and the giant lifted its huge head. As if in slow motion, it turned to look over its shoulder. One of its massive hands came into view and braced against one bent knee, and it was a startling realization to note that each finger was the size of a person.
The brothers were outsized by fingers.
Then, the face angled towards them, and eyes the size of their heads locked on them.
A/N
Plenty more to come, this story is only just getting started!
Next: July 15th, 2018 at 9pm est